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September 2020 An application for change of use of land off Wallace Drive to two caravan pitches has been refused by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council (ref : 19/01407/FUL). Borough Councillor Martin Cartwright and County Councillor Ozzy O’Shea have issued the following statement regarding the the planning application.
The application for land at Wallace Drive , Groby was for a change of use of land to 2 No. Gypsy / Traveller pitches comprising of 2 static caravans, 1 day room and 2 No. touring caravans and associated infrastructure, on land to the East of Wallace Drive, Groby.
Although the application was to gain access to the land via a private drive leading from Wallace Drive that the applicant does not own or have a right of access over (civil issue), it was considered that access for the applicant was therefore likely to be gained from the track that runs from the A50. The same would be true as the applicant left the site his only option would be to use the track out onto the A50.
This application was debated at the Planning Committee meeting, held at Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council via Zoom on 29thSeptember 2020. During the meeting Cllr Martin Cartwright presented the key reasons for recommending refusal on the grounds of Highway Safety, particularly the issues causing conflict between vehicles and pedestrians on the public right of way footpath that runs along the track from the A50 and parallel to Wallace Drive towards the applicant’s land as well as both access tracks. This motion was supported by Cllr Ozzy O’Shea who spoke about the application as County Councillor for Groby who raised serious highway safety concerns about vehicles towing caravans on and off the track at the junction with the A50.
Following a proposal from Cllr Martin Cartwright & seconded by the Planning Vice Chairman Cllr Danny Findlay (Chairman for the evening), the vote was taken and the application was unanimously refused.
The two reasons for the refusal are listed below:
1. The access as proposed via Wallace Drive does not provide an access track of sufficient width and geometry to allow a touring caravan and car to access the site. In the absence of a suitable access track width from Wallace Drive it is likely that the occupiers would utilise the established access track via the A50. The proposed development would therefore result in an unacceptable increase in traffic using the A50 access that also has inadequate width and geometry. This would lead to vehicles giving way within or reversing on to an A classified road subject to a 40mph speed limit which would have a severe impact on highway safety.
2. The proposal would result in an unacceptable increase in traffic using access tracks which have inadequate width and geometry and which are also public rights of way or intersected by public rights of way. This would lead to a conflict between pedestrians and motorists using the tracks and ultimately pedestrian safety issues. This would be contrary to Policy DM17 of the Site Allocations and Development Management DPD July 2016 and Policy 18 of the Core Strategy 2009.
What happens next?
The applicant has six months in which to appeal that decision to a government inspector. Should the applicant decide to appeal, both your Councillors Borough and County, working closely as a team with the well organised Bradgate Hill Groby Residents Committee and the local community are well placed in order to fight and defend any appeal.
The Bradgate Hill Groby Residents Group along with the two above Councillors will keep you fully updated in respect of the issues with this site.
Kind regards
Cllr Martin Cartwright Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council
Cllr Ozzy O'Shea Leicestershire County Council